I noticed something interesting at Mass one day. Most of the statues and pictures depicting our Lord and Blessed Mother do not look directly at you. Their eyes look down and they gaze at an unseen point on the floor. I was able to visit more than one church during the next few months and found basically the same thing to be true. Jesus and our Blessed Mother wouldn’t look me in the eye. No matter where I stood, I couldn’t get a direct look.
In the course of my unofficial investigation, I saw people crossing the altar with hardly an acknowledgment of the Presence. Others were dashing into Mass at the last moment, slipping into their pews without genuflecting. In some parishes, standing replaced kneeling at moments that deserve some extra reverence. And excessive chattering and greetings to fellow parishioners kept their mind away from the Owner of the church. They didn’t see the downcast eyes of our reminders of Jesus and Mary.
I won’t judge, of course, as that is not my place in life. I am only observing something that intruded into my own mind. Perhaps it is a personal message to me. Maybe my Guardian Angel is trying to tell me something. My curiosity continued and I pondered over this whenever I went to Mass. I would stand up to receive Communion and even the Crucified Christ above the tabernacle would not meet my gaze.
One day I went to a church that had retained the Communion rail. The pastor was not afraid to encourage the people to approach and kneel to receive the Eucharist. I knelt and while waiting my turn, looked up at Jesus on the cross and He was looking directly at me. After Mass, I went to Mary’s statue, stood there a moment and then knelt. I turned my eyes to her face and our eyes met. I suddenly realized that mere statues were not depicting how Jesus and Mary feel about us. They are there to remind us of how much love they have to give . . . if we will bend our knee in order to find it.
“A man is quite incapable of learning humility in a position of superiority . . .” Pope St. Gregory I
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